Classical potential scattering of electrons in the presence of a laser field

Abstract

The classical scattering of an electron in the presence of a strong monochromatic laser field is examined using the space-translation transformation. Results for one-dimensional scattering by a polarisation-type potential are compared with quantal results. The soft-photon, high-energy and adiabatic limits are investigated analytically and compared with numerical results. Semi classical methods are used to estimate n-photon absorption and emission probabilities in transmission in the soft-photon limit. While many of the features of the quantal results are displayed by the classical solutions, reflection is consistently underestimated. Regions of irregular classical motion are found where transmitted and reflected trajectories appear to alternate, apparently on all scales, as the phase of the field is changed. Numerical studies are performed of fields where a Gaussian envelope, in position or in time, is superimposed. Conditions are obtained for adiabatic entry to the field.